Court ruling reinstates negligence suit against cruise line

explorer of the sea

Joel Page / Associated Press

A ferry passes in front of the Explorer of the Seas cruise ship in 2007. A court ruling says the family of a man who died after being injured on the ship can pursue a negligence suit against Royal Caribbean Cruises.

A ferry passes in front of the Explorer of the Seas cruise ship in 2007. A court ruling says the family of a man who died after being injured on the ship can pursue a negligence suit against Royal Caribbean Cruises. (Joel Page / Associated Press)

In a case involving a man who died after a head injury on a cruise, a U.S. appeals court issued a ruling that may eliminate the cruise industry's broad immunity from medical negligence lawsuits.

Patricia Franza's lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruises focuses on the treatment that her father, Pasquale Vaglio, received after he hit his head while the Explorer of the Seas was in port in Bermuda in 2011.

Vaglio was seen by the ship's nurse after the accident but received minimal treatment, and the onboard doctor did not evaluate him until four hours later, according to court records. Vaglio was airlifted the following day to a New York hospital, where he died a week later.

But the latest ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals said the 1988 case, known as Barbetta vs. SS Bermuda Star, was outdated, considering the advancement of technology on cruise ships and the growth of the industry.